The second amendment of the constitution guarantees the right to keep and bear arms. As the specter of gun violence continues in our workplaces, roads and schools, the question keeps arising: do guns keep you safe, or just increase the level of violence?
First off, let’s get something straight. The guarantee of the 2nd Amendment is far from absolute, as much as the pro-gun forces may want you to believe it is. Justice Scalia’s majority opinion in the recent Heller case made that clear. Now, let’s have some common sense. If gun possession made us safer, the United States, with by far the highest per capita rate of gun ownership in the developed world, would be the safest from gun violence among our fellow developed countries (Western Europe, Canada and Japan). Instead, while most rates of crime and violence for the US are similar to those of our fellows, our country suffers many times more gun violence per capita than any other developed country. Coincidence? Hardly. It doesn’t take a genius to make the obvious connection between gun violence and presence of guns.
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